We took a red-eye for Newark and landed around 9:30 AM. We had relatively good seats on the plane – exit row and the middle seat was empty. I think I dozed in and out of sleeping. I did not feel like a complete zombie when we landed but I still remember waking several times. My husband has some great pictures he took of me while I was sleeping on the plane.
We then picked up the rental car and headed to our hotel in Edinburgh. There was a lot of traffic getting into the city. We finally arrived at our hotel around 11:30 and as expected, our room was not ready. We went to go find an ATM and a cell phone store. For £16 I was able to get an unlimited data plan for my phone and 300 voice minutes. That certainly beats Verizon’s fee for global data which is limited to 100mb. At least now I don’t have to worry about going over my allowance. There were some minor hiccups with getting a SIM card for my phone – for example I basically have a new phone number. So people have to add my number to their phone for certain things to work. I am also having some trouble sending iMessages. However I can still access data and use What’s App with my family. I will look into my problems after I update this post.
We then went to have lunch. After lunch we were able to check into our hotel. Both my husband and I took a nap. I woke up around 4:45 and decided to go for a run. I went for a 4.6 mile run. It felt more like Frogger. There are so many people in Edinburgh right now. August is the most popular time of the year to visit the city. I ran down Princes Street and then ran down the Royal Mile. I then hiked up Authur’s Seat in Holyrood Park. Then I ran back to the hotel and at this point David was up.
Both of us took a shower at the hotel and then we went out for a late dinner. We strolled down the Royal Mile and eventually had dinner around 9:15 PM. I had a large glass of wine with my meal. Afterwards I had a gelato. I love how available ice cream is in Europe. As we walked back to the hotel there were fireworks in the sky above Edinburgh Castle.
Some observations I have had so far: Men look great in kilts. I’ve seen one rocking a purple kilt and I saw someone in a camouflage kilt. There are many, many tourists in Edinburgh right now. I have heard a couple of Americans but most seem to be European tourists. Some of the architecture in old town reminds me of The Netherlands.
Tomorrow we are waking up early and heading south of Edinburgh, then later heading West. My Dutch friend Angie is joining us this weekend so we will need to pick her up from the airport around 2 PM. We are looking forward to her company!
Family Vacation Adventures 